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Safety, new format at OCBC Cycle 2015

SINGAPORE — The new-look OCBC Cycle 2015 may have done away with the professional criterium, but cycling enthusiasts can still catch the region’s best in action when the inaugural OCBC Cycle Speedway Championships are held at the Sports Hub on Aug 29 and 30.

SINGAPORE — The new-look OCBC Cycle 2015 may have done away with the professional criterium, but cycling enthusiasts can still catch the region’s best in action when the inaugural OCBC Cycle Speedway Championships are held at the Sports Hub on Aug 29 and 30.

The event’s high-speed, spectator-friendly race format was unveiled at its official launch at OCBC Bank yesterday. The first-of-its-kind race will see four-man teams riding a total of 10 laps in pairs around a 1km course at the Sports Hub.

The Speedway Championships will see up to 100 cyclists competing in the OCBC Cycle Speedway SEA Championships, which features about 10 of the best cycling teams from South-east Asia, as well as the OCBC Cycle Speedway Club Championships, which pits 15 of the best local cycling clubs against one another.

Teams entered for the SEA Championships will compete in two qualifying heats, with the top three sides from each heat advancing to the semi-finals to determine the top three finalists. The fastest team will be crowned the South-east Asian champions and take home a cash prize of S$6,000, while the second- and third-placed teams will win S$4,000 and S$2,000, respectively.

The Club Championships will run in a similar format, with the top three winners receiving S$800, S$600 and S$400, respectively, as well as Vertix Velo wireless cycling headsets worth S$268 each.

Winners from both events will get to ride in Sunday’s Champions Wave at the start of the 42km Sportive Ride.

“The challenge is a new feature that we’ve added, and this time, we’re going to invite the cycling clubs to join, (so) it’s competitive cycling along with representatives from the other Association of South-east Asian Nations countries,” said OCBC group chief executive officer Samuel Tsien at yesterday’s launch.

“In addition to making it a local event, we are trying to promote it as a regional event. We’re going to add excitement to it because in addition to people participating, we’ve got more professionals participating in it,” he added.

Other activities, including a cafe bike crawl, sports injury prevention workshops and photography classes, will be held as part of the lead-up to OCBC Cycle 2015.

Yesterday’s launch also saw the start of OCBC Cycle’s public registration, which saw 162 participants signing up on-site at OCBC Bank. The race route, which has not been finalised, is expected to be announced at a later date.

Army regular Keith Koe was first in line at the registration booth after turning up at 7am with eight friends. The 37-year-old was rewarded with a S$200 shopping voucher from Orchard Gateway and a 25 per cent discount off the registration fee for the Sportive Ride.

“While the actual route is not out yet, the excitement of riding in and out of the Sports Hub is something new,” he said. “The distance is a bit short, but it’s good to try something new and I’ll be riding with 11 colleagues.”

Safety is a priority for this year’s event, particularly after the 2014 OCBC Cycle Singapore was hit by tragedy with the death of national serviceman Chia Wee Kiak, who died while competing in the 59km Super Challenge.

Added Tsien: “This year, we’re going to limit the number of participants to 9,000. In the previous years, we had over 10,000, 11,000, 12,000, and we felt maybe 9,000 is a better number for us to manage all the activities that surround it. Safety is the most important thing.”

Visit www.ocbccycle.com for registration details.

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